John Yates Joins DAI to Lead Public Financial Management Practice

September 22, 2017

DAI has brought on John Yates to lead a team of practitioners who deliver technical assistance around macroeconomic policy, domestic resource mobilization, budget planning and execution, tax and customs administration, central banking, trade and investment policy, and the business enabling environment.

Yates has previously worked at Chemonics International, BearingPoint, Deloitte, and the World Bank and has degrees in international economic management, computer systems management, and economics. He’s worked on donor-funded public finance programming in Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, Georgia, and Serbia. His roles on these projects covered IT Advisor, Component Lead, Deputy Chief of Party, and Chief of Party.

Yates says he is most proud of USAID’s Enabling Labor Mobility project that reformed the collection of contributions for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s social insurance system, including the pension, health and unemployment funds. “This reform involved the drafting and passage of legislation, preparation of regulations, transfer of the collections functions to the tax administration, development of integrated registration and accounting software, and reorganization of the affected agencies,” he said. “While very challenging technically and politically, the reform was successfully completed and ensured the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s social safety net for years to come.

“Public financial management is one of the keys to sustainable development, as countries must be able to mobilize, plan and allocate financial resources effectively to break their reliance on development assistance.”

Ten years after DAI helped Serbia launch its National Association for Local Economic Development (NALED), NALED celebrated the milestone with a gala in Belgrade that attracted more than 600 political and business leaders, mayors, representatives of state institutions and international organizations, and diplomats.